Mosque in Karachi attacked, toll rises to 76
Pakistan Couple Faces Death By Stoning After Conviction for AdulteryAnother 61 killed in Karachi violence; 150 injured
3 hurt as Taliban suicide squad hits main US base
Police Official Assassinated by Taliban in Pakistan
39 killed in Iraq attacks; Al Qaeda plants flag
Child booked in murder attempt case
Zaytuna College: Where Islam meets America
Malaysia’s first women Islamic judges draw debate
Rights groups challenge US over Muslim preacher
UN chief says sorry for Kashmir remark
All-clear for Ground Zero mosque
Women take up arms in Iraq’s wild west
Khalifa orders release of ?724 prisoners
Cameron's Pak warning: Parl panel says remarks 'uncalled for'
Time for direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine: US
Writ challenged, J&K cracks down
Can Omar fix it? J&K Congress brings question to New Delhi
Islamists fish in troubled Pak waters
Pakistani-origin Tory chief defends burqa
Centre hoping for SIMI ban to stay
Pak asks India to exercise restraint
Zaytuna College—First Muslim School in America, opens in California
U.N. Council Calls on Iraq to Form Government Soon
U.N. Supports Israeli Claim on Lebanon Clash
Iran’s Account of Woman’s Crime Shifting From Adultery to Murder
After talks with Omar aide, hawk Geelani calls for calm
Oz leader prefers to see fewer women with burqa
UK and Pakistan leaders try to repair strained relations
Violence may continue till Obama visit
World losing war with Taliban: Zardari
Man who bombed Ajmer & Mecca Masjid held in Indore
Iran guards warn US against attack over nuclear work
Suicide attack in south Yemen wounds eight
Support sought for Sexual Harassment Act
Somali rebels demand cash and jewellery for ’holy war’
Da Silva ‘emotional’ in offering asylum to Iranian woman
US blacklists Iranians for alleged terror support
Occupiers in Palestinian territories exceed half million
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
Photo: People shift an injured victim of the mosque attack at a hospital in Karachi on August 4, 2010
---------
Mosque in Karachi attacked, toll rises to 76
By Imran Ayub
05 Aug, 2010
KARACHI: A hand-grenade attack inside a North Nazimabad mosque during prayers on Wednesday night left five people injured as the daylong violence which included arson attacks and incidents of firing claimed at least 22 more lives, raising the death toll to 76 in three days.
Police said at least two men in shirts and jeans and wearing helmets stopped their motorbike at the Sawari Masjid and Madressah Shams-ul-Uloom in Block N of North Nazimabad and one of them entered the premises.
“The Isha prayers were in progress when he hurled a hand grenade which exploded in the middle of the third row,” said an official at the Taimuria police station.
“The men escaped, leaving five people injured in the mosque. The injured were taken to the Abbassi Shaheed Hospital and their condition was said to be stable, he said.
Allama Maulana Ghulam Ahmed Siyalwi, a religious scholar and senior member of Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan (JUP), was among the injured. He is the patron-in-chief of the seminary attached to the mosque.
The JUP leadership, meanwhile, ruled out any ethnic motive behind the attack, but said they suspected it to be a message to the party which had sought intervention of the army and the chief justice for stopping the Karachi bloodshed.
“We believe that they are the same terrorists who have vitiated the city’s peace over the past three days and want to threaten the party, which only on Tuesday appealed to the army chief and the chief justice for action,” said Tariq Mahbood of the JUP.
Earlier in the day, panic and fear ruled the city as armed men carried out attacks in different areas and killed 22 people. The violence, which was sparked by killing of Muttahida Qaumi Movement MPA Raza Haider on Monday evening, claimed 76 lives by Wednesday night.
Qasba Colony and neighbouring Orangi Town emerged as the worst-affected areas where gunmen roamed freely. Police force and Rangers were nowhere to challenge them. A spokesman for the Edhi Foundation said the charity’s ambulance shifted more than 50 injured to different hospitals. Half of them were women and children who were hit by bullets while they were in their homes.
Similarly, there was no let-up in arson attacks. Three houses in Qasba Colony were set on fire in the early hours of the day. More than 30 shops of cellphones in Al-Falah of Saddar and a number of carpet showrooms in North Karachi met the same fate.
Nearly a dozen pushcarts parked on roadside in North Nazimabad and several shops in a shopping mall in Buffer Zone were also set ablaze.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/pakistan/metropolitan/06-six-wounded-in-mosque-attack-in-karachi-rs-05
---------
PAKISTAN COUPLE FACES DEATH BY STONING AFTER CONVICTION FOR ADULTERY BY TRIBAL JIRGA COURT
Saeed Shah
05 August 2010
Rights groups say woman's life in danger after man flees village
A couple have been sentenced to be stoned to death for alleged adultery by a tribal court in north-west Pakistan, with the woman's life now considered in grave danger.
The man involved, Zarkat Khan, has run away while the woman is in the custody of the court, according to residents in Kala Dhaka, a remote area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The death sentence, handed down in Manjakot village last month, will be carried out once the man is found, a member of the tribal court said.
The woman, whose name is being withheld at the request of human rights groups, is being held in a nearby village, according to campaigners. She is married and believed to have three children.
"As usual, it is the woman who is made to bear the brunt of such atrocious barbarism, injustice, and inhuman, un-Islamic sentences," said the Woman's Action Forum, a Pakistani non-governmental organisation. "Why is the provincial law enforcement system neither de jure nor de facto functional? Where are the women's protection mechanisms and institutions?"
Some locals believe the verdict will not be carried out but Maroof Khan, who said he sat on the tribal court, or jirga, that heard the case said the couple were guilty and must be punished. He said they would be shot, not stoned.
"We burned down the man's house, as is our tradition," he said. "When we get hold of them, we'll kill them, there's no doubt about that. It was a clear-cut case. This is our custom. We will just shoot them. Finished."
The case is particularly awkward for the Pakistani authorities as Kala Dhaka is inside the main territory of the country, in Khyber-Pakhtunkwa (formerly North West Frontier province), and not part of the Taliban-controlled tribal fringe along the Afghan border. Kala Dhaka is administered by its tribes through the jirga, rather than normal law enforcement apparatus such as the police. This anomaly dates from British colonial times because the tradition-bound region has long proved difficult to rule.
There is little or no Taliban presence there. The government has announced plans to make Kala Dhaka a regular "settled" district. There have been several cases in recent years of couples put to death by tribal courts for adultery in Kala Dhaka and the surrounding area.
"This woman is most probably still in danger. She is literally like a slave right now. It's up to them [the jirga], they can do anything to her right now," said Samar Minallah, a women's rights activist. "In so many past cases, the woman was killed later on, or married off for a bride price. They just can't let her be, there has to be revenge."
The local government administration confirmed that the jirga had passed a verdict of stoning to death, or "sangsar" as it is locally known, but claimed that it had interceded and the couple were now in safe hands.
"Both are with relatives," said Tasleem Khan, government administrator for Kala Dhaka. "The big jirga never happened, it was a smaller jirga. The verdict was stoning. But we intervened, called in the elders and nothing has happened to either [man or woman]."
The Guardian reported earlier this month that 12 Iranian women and three men are awaiting execution by stoning despite an apparent last-minute reprieve for a mother of two who had been facing the sentence after being convicted of adultery.
An international campaign over the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, who was awaiting execution in the western Iranian town of Tabriz led to a volte face by the Iranian authorities. But her fate remains uncertain, and it is likely that she will still be executed.
Traditional justice
The jirga in the ethnic Pashtun society of north-west Pakistan, and also Afghanistan, is a traditional form of arbitrating disputes and dispensing justice. Jirgas cover everything from property disputes to murder charges. The males gather but exclude women from their meeting. Everyone from the tribal chief to the humblest labourer is allowed to stand up and have a say.
The jirga aims to produce a consensus. Its appeal is that it produces speedy and transparent justice, compared to Pakistan's courts, where corruption and delays are the norm.
The jirga nominally decides cases according to Islamic law, but in practice it is often local custom that it enforces. Promises to bring back jirgas have been used as a rallying cry by the Taliban, in both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In Pakistan today, jirga rule officially only applies in areas declared tribal districts - the federally administered areas along the Afghan border and in parts of the north-west province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
However, illegal jirgas are commonly constituted in rural areas across Pakistan, handing down punishments including death sentences.
---------
Another 61 killed in Karachi violence; 150 injured
August 04, 2010
KARACHI: Over 61 people have been gunned down so far as violent incidents including firing and torching of properties since Monday evening have been raging fiercely while over 150 persons have been reportedly injured during last three days, Geo News reported.
Scores of shops, vehicles, houses and pushcarts have been burnt to aches by unidentified miscreants despite the nonstop patrolling of heavy contingents from law enforcement agencies on roads and streets in Karachi.
The spate of violent incidents, ransacking, torching of shops, firing started shortly after the news of assassination of MQM’s MPA Syed Raza Haider spread like a wildfire, which is still continued and undergoing its worst state.
Reports of aerial firing were also reported from many areas throughout night, which has triggered a massive panic among people while worthwhile properties were also set on fire on different places.
Life in Karachi has remained at standstill as all the markets, schools, colleges, commercial areas, public and private transport, petrol and CNG pumps have been seen on complete closure.
As many as 61 persons have been shot dead while more than 150 injured people have been admitted to hospital during last 36 hours.
Meanwhile, 40 vehicles, many furniture markets, tea hotels, carpet shops, 10 trucks, pushcarts, garments shops have been set ablaze in different areas.
Some reports of shootouts have also reached here from Cakt Pahari locality where unidentified miscreants comprising two political parties clashed with heavy weapons, which gripped area residents in fear.
Many armed activists of political parties continued patrolling on roads at night and left no chance in vain to cause harm to innocent people.
Three houses have been set on fire in Qasba Colony while fire brigade activists are in constant state of denial to go to panic-hit areas due to lapse of security.
Forces closure of business, shops, hotels were also seen all the day on Tuesday.
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/8-4-2010/69442.htm
---------
3 hurt as Taliban suicide squad hits main US base
August 05, 2010
KANDAHAR: A Taliban suicide squad armed with bombs and rockets attacked the largest US military base in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, leaving one Nato soldier and two civilians injured.
An initial rocket attack on Kandahar airfield, which left the three wounded was followed by a suicide bomb attack that sparked an hour-long gun battle, officials said.The two suicide bombers detonated explosives strapped to their bodies outside the base perimeter, aiming to clear the entrance for the rest of the group to breach the wire, Kandahar provincial spokesman Zalmai Ayobi told AFP. “Two of them blew themselves up and the other four were killed in the subsequent fire-fight,” he said.
Nato and Ayobi said the militants failed to enter the base, which was immediately locked-down and many civilian workers sent home, while six helicopters flew low overhead. Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack.
http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=254662
---------
Police Official Assassinated by Taliban in Pakistan
By ISMAIL KHAN
05 Aug, 2010
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A suicide bomber wearing 20 pounds of explosives assassinated the prominent leader of a Pakistani security force and three other people on Wednesday afternoon at a busy intersection here in northwest Pakistan, security officials said.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack against the principal victim, Safwat Ghayur, the commander of Pakistan’s Frontier Constabulary, a force controlled by the Interior Ministry that has carried out campaigns against militants in Pakistan’s semiautonomous tribal areas.
A car carrying Mr. Ghayur, 50, had just left the force’s headquarters and was stopped at a traffic signal when a young suicide bomber ran up and detonated his explosives, Mr. Ghayur’s driver told journalists at the city’s main hospital.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/world/asia/05pstan.html?ref=world
---------
39 killed in Iraq attacks; Al Qaeda plants flag
04 Aug, 2010
KUT (Iraq), Aug 3: Twin car bombs in south Iraq killed 30 people on Tuesday while Al Qaeda fighters shot dead five policemen in Baghdad and planted their flag, a day after the US pledged no delays to its withdrawal timetable.
The violence also comes amid a deadlock over the formation of a new government nearly five months on from parliamentary elections, amid concerns that Iraq’s security may be deteriorating after officials said more people died in violence in July than in any month since May 2008 Overall, 39 people were killed in violence across Iraq on Tuesday, officials said.
“We have so far received 30 corpses and 80 people have been wounded,” the head of the emergency services at Kut hospital said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Two cars, parked 10 metres (yards) from each other, exploded at the same time at Al-Amel crossing,” police Lieutenant Ismail Hussein said, referring to the commercial centre of Kut, 160kms south of Baghdad and capital of Wasit province.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/international/39-killed-in-iraq-attacks-al-qaeda-plants-flag-480
---------
Child booked in murder attempt case
05 Aug, 2010
DADU, Aug 3: A three-year-old boy was booked in a murder attempt case by the police here on Tuesday.
A restaurant owner, Shafi Mohammad Babbur, has lodged the case against his employee Haji Umrani and his three sons, including Naimatullah, 3, at Dadu town police station.
The complainant alleged that Haji Umrani had stolen a fridge and other items from his restaurant. When he demanded return of the stolen items, Umrani and his sons, including Naimatullah, attacked his house, Babbur alleged.
Umrani arrived at the local press club with Naimatullah. He said that they had been booked in a fake case and police had conducted raids at his house to arrest them.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/child-booked-in-murder-attempt-case-480
---------
Zaytuna College: Where Islam meets America
05 August 2010
A new college started classes this summer in Berkeley, California.
Zaytuna College’s motto is, “Where Islam meets America.” It’s the first Muslim college in the United States.
A visit to the campus reveals a pretty standard California college scene.
Students walk across a sunny courtyard into classrooms, pick seats next to friends. But on this campus, the women sit on opposite sides of the auditorium from the men, who are mostly heavily bearded, heads covered in skull caps. Only one woman’s hair is visible. The rest wear modest Islamic scarves.
The language in this classroom is Arabic. Zaytuna College is offering summer language classes in preparation for its official fall opening. The college emphasizes a rigorous general education in American history, anthropology, philosophy, literature, political science, but a major portion of its required curriculum is devoted to the study of Islam and the Koran.
Full report at:
---------
Malaysia’s first women Islamic judges draw debate
05 Aug, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s first female Islamic court judges are set to take office but women's rights activists in the mainly Muslim country aren't cheering yet.
Limits on the cases they will be allowed to hear which may see them barred from making rulings on marriage and divorce have caused some activists to question whether the moderate Muslim country in Southeast Asia is really ready to empower women.
“We don’t understand the basis for this. Presumably they’re as qualified as the male judges so there’s no reason to disqualify them on the basis of gender,” said Marina Mahathir from Sisters in Islam, a Muslim women’s rights group.
Full report at:
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/news/world/21-malaysia-first-women-islamic-judges-draw-debate-sk-08
---------
Rights groups challenge US over Muslim preacher
By JEREMY PELOFSKY
05 Aug, 2010
WASHINGTON: Two human rights groups on Tuesday accused the Obama administration of trying block their efforts to serve as lawyers for the father of a US-born Muslim cleric who wants to challenge a US order to capture or kill his son.
The Center for Constitutional Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union said they agreed to pursue the case in July at the request of the father of Anwar Al-Awlaki, a cleric born in New Mexico.
US authorities have tied Nasser Al-Awlaki's son to the failed bombing attempt of a US commercial jet on Christmas Day in 2009 and also to an Army major who went on a shooting spree that killed 13 people last year at Fort Hood in Texas.
The US Treasury Department last month blacklisted Anwar Al-Awlaki as a "specially designated global terrorist," saying he is a leader of Al-Qaeda hiding in Yemen. The administration in April authorized operations to capture or kill him.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article95119.ece
---------
UN chief says sorry for Kashmir remark
Anirudh Bhattacharyya
Aug 05th, 2010
UN Secretary-General Ban KiMoon apologised to India for a statement attributed to him by a UN spokesperson that used the term `India-administered Kashmir' while voicing concern about the J&K situation
United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, during recent interactions, has apologised to elements of the Indian government for a “statement“ attributed to him on the situation in Kashmir and composite dialogue between India and Pakistan.
During the interactions, Ban reportedly said “sorry“ and “this won't happen again“.
Apparently, he had issued clear instructions to his staff to refrain from making any statements on Kashmir. If they had to respond to a question, they were asked to stick to formulations that would not elicit a “reaction“.
Full report at: Hindustan Times
---------
All-clear for Ground Zero mosque
Aug 05th, 2010
New York: Ambitious plans to build a mosque next to New Yorks Ground Zero cleared a major hurdle on Tuesday when a local commission voted to remove the existing structure on the site from a protected list.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously in favor of an application to end the protected status of the 1850s Italian Renaissance palazzo-style building,which now houses only an abandoned clothing store.
The commission voted 9-0 in favor of removing the building at 45-47 Park Place from the landmarks list,said the bodys chairman Robert Tierney.
Many applauded the decision,but others shouted shame and one woman held a placard saying : dont glorify murders of 3,000,no 9/11 mosque and Islam builds mosques at the sites of their conquests.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
Women take up arms in Iraq’s wild west
4 August 2010
Ramadi, Iraq — Sporting a long blue dress and white headscarf, Umm Omar barely blinks as she whips out a pistol in her garden. For her, the gun is a necessary evil to protect her young family.
“I hate the sound of gunfire, but it is the terrorists who have forced me to learn to handle a gun to protect my children and my home,” the 27-year-old mother of three says almost matter of factly, while deftly handling the weapon.
Umm Omar lives with her family in Ramadi, capital of the western province of Anbar, one Iraq’s most violent regions. She is among a growing number of young mothers who have learned to use a weapon to fend off insurgents targeting the families of civil servants and security personnel.
“A few months ago, a group of gunmen tried to burgle our home,” notes husband Ahmed Karim, a police sergeant whose work frequently keeps him away from home for days at a stretch.
Full report at:
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2010/August/middleeast_August38.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
---------
Khalifa orders release of ?724 prisoners
4 August 2010
ABU DHABI — The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered the release of 724 prisoners, of whom 426 are in Abu Dhabi prisons and 298 in other prisons, across the country.
Shaikh Khalifa’s gesture comes ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. He pledged to incur all the prisoners’ debts and financial commitments that ensued from the cases against them.
The UAE President’s humanitarian gesture of pardoning Emirati and expatriate prisoners comes in line with his keenness to give them a chance to start a new life and ease the suffering of their families.
The release and settlement of the financial commitments reflect the kindness of the UAE President on religious and national occasions, and reiterate the tolerance spirit of the UAE community.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2010/August/theuae_August124.xml§ion=theuae&col=
---------
Cameron's Pak warning: Parl panel says remarks 'uncalled for'
Aug 04th, 2010
Islamabad : A Pakistani Parliamentary panel has dismissed as "uncalled for" David Cameron's remarks in India that Pakistan must stop promoting "export of terror," with its chief saying that even the place where the British Premier made the statement was "inappropriate".
The Parliamentary Committee on National Security on Monday criticised the remarks made by Cameron during his India visit last week.
The comments have already sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries and the Foreign Ministry yesterday summoned the British High Commissioner to register its protest.
"Pakistan is not a state that exports terrorism, rather a victim of it. The uncalled for remarks of the British Prime Minister are (baseless) and incorrect... Mr Cameron or other powers do not have any empirical evidence to support such a surmise," said Raza Rabbani, the Chairman of the committee and a senior leader of the ruling PPP.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/camerons-pak-warning-parl-panel-says-remarks-uncalled-for/655459/
---------
Time for direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine: US
Aug 03 2010
Washington : The Obama Administration strongly believes this is the right time when Israel and Palestine move from proximity talks into direct negotiations, a top US official has said.
Noting that US has had intensive conversations with parties in recent weeks, State Department spokesman P J Crowley said the US "strongly believes" this is the time when the parties need to move from proximity talks into direct negotiations.
"We think there are clear benefits to taking that step at this time. We are trying to move the parties in that direction," he said, adding that US is encouraged by the fact that neighbouring countries have given a green light to proceed with the direct negotiations.
Special US Envoy for the Middle East George Mitchell, would be travelling to the region soon in this regard.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/time-for-direct-negotiations-between-israel-and-palestine-us/655451/
---------
Writ challenged, J&K cracks down
Muzamil Jaleel
Aug 04 2010
Srinagar : The wave of protests continued to convulse the city and large tracts of the Valley today testing the writ of both the state government and the security forces who struck back. This set off clashes and firing in which five protesters were killed and 18 wounded, five of them critically.
Over the last five days, 27 people, including a nine-year-old boy, have been killed taking the civilian death toll to 45 since violence began eight weeks ago.
After Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s meetings with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and other Central officials, the state government asked police and security forces to go ahead and crack down.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/writ-challenged-j&k-cracks-down/655781/
---------
Can Omar fix it? J&K Congress brings question to New Delhi
D K Singh
Aug 04 2010
New Delhi : With no let-up in the protests sweeping the Valley, renewed signs of chill have emerged between Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his critics in the state Congress, his ally in the government.
A group of senior Congress leaders, including legislators, former ministers and parliamentarians, met top party leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and AICC general secretary Prithviraj Chavan over the past two days to express their apprehensions about Omar’s ability to handle the current crisis.
These leaders, said to be loyalists of Union Minister and former CM Ghulam Nabi Azad — as distinct from the pro-Omar faction close to state party chief Saifuddin Soz — have proposed a host of remedial measures to the central leadership, ranging from Governor’s Rule to a change of guard in the state.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/can-omar-fix-it-j&k-congress-brings-question-to-new-delhi/655771/
---------
Islamists fish in troubled Pak waters
Aug 04 2010
Nowshera/New York : Five years after Islamist charities aided victims of a deadly earthquake in Pakistan, earning massive goodwill as the government struggled to respond, the same scenario may be unfolding again.
Charities, some with suspected ties to Islamic militants, have stepped in to provide aid to Pakistanis hit by the worst flooding in memory, which has killed over 1,500 people and displaced over a million. The charities — and the militants whom they are suspected to front — could gain support if the relief efforts pay off, as they did after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake that killed 75,000 people.
“We have lost everything. We only managed to save our lives. Nobody has come to us,” said Mihrajuddin Khan, a school teacher in Swat Valley. “We are being treated like orphans, animals.”
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/islamists-fish-in-troubled-pak-waters/655845/
---------
Pakistani-origin Tory chief defends burqa
Aug 04th, 2010
London : Wearing a burqa does not prevent Muslim women from engaging in everyday life in Britain, Pakistani-origin Conservative Party chairman Sayeeda Warsi has said.
Defending the right of Muslim women to choose to wear the burka, Sayeeda Warsi said many women wore the veil of their own free will.
Warsi, the first Muslim women to serve in British Cabinet, said: "Just because a woman wears the burqa, it doesn't mean she can't engage in everyday life. Why should we tell women what to wear? What it boils down to is choice. If women don't have a choice over what to wear then they are oppressed.
"But if a woman has a choice, and she chooses to wear whatever she chooses to wear then she's not oppressed is she? She's choosing what she wants."
Critics, including some in Warsi's party, claim that the burqa alienates Muslim women from the rest of society.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/pakistaniorigin-tory-chief-defends-burqa/655488/
---------
Centre hoping for SIMI ban to stay
Abhinav Garg
Aug 04th, 2010
New Delhi: The Centre will be hoping to avoid the embarassment of 2008 when the ban on Students Islamic Movement of India was revoked.A special tribunal headed by a sitting HC judge is expected on Wednesday to deliver its findings on the legality of the governments extension of ban on SIMI.
In February this year the ministry of home affairs (MHA) had extended the ban by another two years on SIMI after which it came for review before the tribunal.
The government was caught napping in 2008 when the tribunal had found the ban extension unsustainable and revoked it,forcing the MHA to rush to Supreme Court the very next day to seek and obtain an immediate stay on the tribunals findings.According to the judge the government had failed to table any fresh evidence in support of its contention seeking extension of ban.
Times of India
---------
Pak asks India to exercise restraint
Aug 04th, 2010
Needling India over the violence in J&K,Pakistan on Tuesday asked it to exercise restraint while expressing unequivocal solidarity with the Kashmiris.In a statement that may raise hackles in New Delhi,foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi spoke about escalation of violence against Kashmiri people.Pakistan is seriously concerned at the escalation of violence against Kashmiri people that has resulted in the loss of innocent lives.There is a need for the government of India to exercise restraint, he said.The minister raked up the issue of self-determination,saying Islamabad will extend political,moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people.Pakistan expresses its unequivocal solidarity with the people of Jammu and Kashmir and shall continue to extend its political,moral and diplomatic support to the just cause of the people of Jammu and Kashmir for their right to self-determination, he said
Times of India
---------
Zaytuna College—First Muslim School in America, opens in California
By Maryam Khan
05 August 2010
Zaytuna College began their classes this summer in Berkeley, California. It is the first Muslim College in America “committed to demonstrating, through practice, teaching, and the free exchange of ideas, Islam’s critical role in the modern world.” The college’s motto, “Where Islam meets America,” expresses the great pride the school takes in creating an institution of knowledge based around Islam.
If one were to take a visit to campus, they would see a typical California campus scene, students strolling through courtyards, sitting in grassy fields with friends, studying in small groups.
However if you were to venture into a classroom, you would notice that men and women sit on opposite sides of the auditorium. The men are typically bearded, wearing kufis, and most women wear modest Islamic head scarves. The college focuses on general education in American history, anthropology, philosophy, literature, political science, however a major portion of the required curriculum is devoted to studying Islam and the Qur’an. Imam Zaid Shakir, the founder of Zaytuna College and also a professor stated, “We want to manifest Islam in a way that’s compatible with America.”
Full report at:
http://www.elanthemag.com/index.php/site/blog_detail/zaytuna_college_first_muslim_school_in_america_opens_in_california-nid54659/
---------
U.N. Council Calls on Iraq to Form Government Soon
05 Aug, 2010
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The Security Council called on Iraq on Wednesday to form a new government quickly after a U.N. envoy said delays were hurting its infrastructure and services and adding to uncertainty about its future.
Nearly five months after a parliamentary election, Iraq remains at an impasse over forming a government, mostly due to disagreements over who should be prime minister, Iraqi politicians and U.N. officials say.
A council statement urged Iraqi politicians to "form, as quickly as possible, a government that is inclusive and represents the will of the Iraqi people and their hope for a strong, independent, unified and democratic Iraq."
Earlier, U.N. special envoy to Iraq Ad Melkert told the 15-nation council the delays were "contributing to uncertainty in the country and create conditions that could be exploited by elements opposed to Iraq's democratic transition."
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/08/04/world/international-uk-iraq-un.html
---------
U.N. Supports Israeli Claim on Lebanon Clash
05 Aug, 2010
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The U.N. peacekeeping force in south Lebanon said on Wednesday Israeli soldiers were operating inside Israel when a deadly firefight broke out with Lebanese troops in the most serious border violence since a 2006 war.
A day after a senior Israeli officer, two Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist were killed in a rare skirmish that raised fears of wider conflict, Israel's military appeared keen to show it would not be deterred from activity in the area.
There was no repeat of the clashes when the Israeli army moved a crane back into the tense frontier zone to complete a tree-pruning mission that had drawn Lebanese army fire.
Iranian-backed Hezbollah, which stayed out of the fighting, vowed to "cut off the hand" of Israel if it attacked the army again. But its leader doubted the incident would spark a war.
In a diplomatic boost for Israel, the U.N. peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL) said Israeli soldiers were inside Israeli territory when the border clashes erupted.
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/08/04/world/international-uk-lebanon-israel.html
---------
Iran’s Account of Woman’s Crime Shifting From Adultery to Murder
By WILLIAM YONG
05 Aug, 2010
TEHRAN — Iran appears to be answering international criticism of its handling of the case of a woman sentenced to death by stoning by suggesting that she is guilty not only of adultery, but also of murder.
On Tuesday, in the first official response to the Brazilian president’s weekend offer of asylum for the woman, Sakineh Ashtiani, 43, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the president had not been fully informed on the case and that “the details of the conviction of this individual” would render it “clear.”
The comment came after an earlier report by the conservative news service Jahan that stated, without citing any source, that Ms. Ashtiani had been convicted of the murder of her husband but that judges had not released that information to the press as the details of the killing were “too horrific.”
Full report at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/world/middleeast/04iran.html?ref=middleeast
---------
After talks with Omar aide, hawk Geelani calls for calm
Muzamil Jaleel
Aug 05 2010
Srinagar : At a time when the Jammu and Kashmir government is floundering as it tries to control the mass protests across the Valley, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah got some respite from a very unusual quarter: Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
Released a day after being re-arrested from the premises of the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences where he was admitted while in custody, Geelani today addressed a press conference at his residence and asked protesters to “desist from arson and attacks on police stations” so that they didn’t lose their “moral high ground” against the “oppressive” state.
Geelani also revealed today that while he was in custody, the CM’s trusted aide, Davinder Singh Rana, had met him and assured him of “political space” — signalling a major shift in the state government’s policy on engaging with hardliners.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/after-talks-with-omar-aide-hawk-geelani-calls-for.../656270/
---------
Oz leader prefers to see fewer women with burqa
05 Aug, 2010
Melbourne : Amid attempts to ban 'burqa' in European nations like France and Belgium, Australian opposition leader and Prime Ministerial candidate Tony Abbott today labelled the face-covering veil as a "particularly confronting" piece of clothing and said he would like to see fewer women in his country wearing it.
His comments come as a Perth judge is set to decide whether a Muslim woman can wear a full burqa while giving evidence before a jury in a fraud case.
"I find the burqa a particularly confronting form of attire and I would very much wish that fewer Australians would choose it," Abbott said, referring to the case of the Muslim woman who has requested that she be allowed to testify in the court wearing a full head covering.
Abbott is the opposition Liberal party's Prime Ministerial candidate in the August 21 polls and is expected to give a tough fight to the incumbent Julia Gillard.
Full report at:
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/oz-leader-prefers-to-see-fewer-women-with-burqa/655963/
---------
UK and Pakistan leaders try to repair strained relations
By ADRIAN CROFT
05 Aug, 2010
LONDON: The leaders of Pakistan and Britain will try to repair strained relations this week after openly disagreeing over Pakistan's commitment to fighting Islamist militants and the direction of the war in Afghanistan.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has gone ahead with a five-day visit to Britain despite pressure from some Pakistani politicians to cancel the visit in protest at Prime Minister David Cameron's comment last week that Islamabad must not "promote the export of terror." The comment, made during Cameron's visit to India, infuriated many Pakistanis. Pakistan's spy chief canceled a trip to Britain and Islamabad summoned Britain's ambassador.
Zardari has been criticized in Britain and at home for visiting Europe when floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,400 people.
"There's a huge environmental catastrophe taking place (in Pakistan) and for the president to be swanning around Paris and London I think is hardly right under these circumstances," Khalid Mahmood, a member of Britain's parliament, told Reuters.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/world/article95577.ece
---------
Violence may continue till Obama visit
Vishwa Mohan
Aug 04th, 2010
New Delhi: The well orchestrated public unrest and violence in the Kashmir Valley may continue with periods of lull in between till the visit of US President Barack Obama to India in November as part of the separatists overall game-plan to bring the global spotlight on the state.
Government reports about this assessment clearly point out that the ongoing agitation is not the result of spontaneous public outbursts but is orchestrated to drew global attention towards J&K at a time when the security forces have by and large been successful in containing Pakistan-based terrorists.
It is suspected that the elements,which want to propagate the idea of an independent Kashmir as the majoritys wish,will not see their efforts of bringing the Valley into the present state of cycle of violence to go waste until it raises eyebrows at the international level and creates some uneasiness when the US President is here in India.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
World losing war with Taliban: Zardari
Aug 04th, 2010
Paris: Pakistans President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday the international community was losing the war against the Afghan Taliban and rebuked Britains Prime Minister David Cameron for questioning Islamabads resolve.Shortly before leaving France for Britain,for a visit that could define Pakistans troubled relations with the West,Zardari set the stage for a meeting with Cameron,saying he hoped a frank exchange would clear the air.
During a visit to India last week,Cameron said Pakistan must do more to prevent the export of terror, comments that infuriated Islamabad,which summoned Britains envoy on Monday.In a statement released by his office overnight,Zardaris office quoted him as saying it was unfortunate that certain individuals continue to express doubts and fears about our determination to fight militants to the end.
Full report at: Times of India
---------
Man who bombed Ajmer & Mecca Masjid held in Indore
By Dalip Singh
Aug 04th, 2010
RAMACHANDRA Kalsangra, an RSS sympathiser, is believed to have been picked up by the investigating agencies for his alleged involvement in the blasts in Rajasthan’s Ajmer Sharif and Hyderabad’s Mecca Masjid in 2007.
Intelligence sources said he was picked up by the investigating agencies a couple of days ago from Indore in Madhya Pradesh, which incidentally also happens to be his native place.
The Rajasthan Police’s antiterrorism squad — which is probing the Ajmer blast — and the CBI have been hot on the trail of Kalsangra, who allegedly planted bombs at the two places along with his associate Sandeep Dange alias Pramanand.
His accomplice is an engineer and the technical brain behind the saffron terror strikes in the country.
As many as 17 people died in the blasts at Ajmer Sharif ( October 11) and Mecca Masjid ( May 18).
Full report at: Mail Today
---------
Iran guards warn US against attack over nuclear work
August 04, 2010
TEHRAN: Iran will make the strategic Gulf region unsafe for all if it comes under attack by the United States over it nuclear programme, the deputy head of the elite Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday.
"If the Americans make the slightest mistake, the security of the region will be endangered. Security in the Persian Gulf should be for all or none," Yadollah Javani told the official news agency.
"The Persian Gulf is a strategic region and if it is endangered they (Americans) will suffer losses and our response will be firm.
"We will defend ourselves if America or Israel resort to any hostile measures against our vital values," he added.
The international community led by the United States has stepped up pressure on Iran over its controversial nuclear programme amid concerns that the Islamic republic is engaged in a covert nuclear weapons programme, a charge Tehran vehemently denies.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/8-4-2010/69443.htm
---------
Suicide attack in south Yemen wounds eight
August 05, 2010
ADEN: Eight people were wounded on Tuesday when a suspected Qaeda suicide bomber blew himself up near a police station in the southern Yemeni town of Daleh, a security official said.
"Eight people were wounded including six policemen in a suicide attack on a police station" in Daleh which "carries the fingerprints of Al-Qaeda," the official said.
Earlier on Tuesday, witnesses said that a motorbike exploded near a police station in Daleh wounding three policemen and two civilians.
A security official in Daleh said that "body parts of the suicide bomber who carried out the attack were recovered."
Yemen's separatist south, where many residents complain of insecurity and discrimination by the Sanaa government in the allocation of resources, is the site of frequent protests and periodic unrest.
Full report at:
http://www.thenews.jang.com.pk/8-3-2010/69424.htm
---------
Support sought for Sexual Harassment Act
04 Aug, 2010
ISLAMABAD: The sexual harassment at workplace is one of the biggest reasons that discouraged women to contribute in the progress of country, said Senator Farooq Naik at a seminar here on Tuesday.
Addressing on the occasion, Senator Farooq Naek said “Women are hesitant to come out to join any profession just because of the reason that they face harassment on their way and at their workplace both,” he said.
Mehergarh organised a seminar about the implementation of anti-sexual harassment legislation. It is one of the founding organisations of Alliance Against Sexual Harassment (AASHA) that works against sexual harassment.
Naek said the contribution of women was inevitable for the progress of country and their party encouraged women to actively participate in various walks of life.
Full report at:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\04\story_4-8-2010_pg11_9
---------
Somali rebels demand cash and jewellery for ’holy war’
04 Aug, 2010
MOGADISHU: Somali rebels have ordered business people in southern Somalia to donate cash and jewellery for a holy war against African Union peacekeeping troops and the Somali government, market traders said on Tuesday. Traders in Mogadishu, Afgooye and Baidoa said they were ordered to pay large amounts of money or donate arms to the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group that enforces a harsh version of sharia law in areas it controls. “We were ordered to contribute $150,000. That is required from pharmacies in Bakara market only,” Mohamed, a trader at the Mogadishu market, told Reuters. He said an al Shabaab official walked about the market on Monday issuing the order. Bigger companies were asked to donate anti-aircraft guns mounted on cars.“Al Shabaab needs more than a million dollars from this market. Now we the traders are discussing in groups how to donate the cash,” Mohamed said. “Previously, each pharmacy used to pay $30 per month but now a hell lot of money is required. Who can refuse to pay,” he said. Women in a market in the southern town of Baidoa were ordered to give up their earrings and rings, which they placed on a sheet in the ground.Al Shabaab has also been announcing the fund raising drive in mosques. Al Shabaab – which means “the youth” in Arabic – has banned movies, musical ring tones, dancing at wedding ceremonies and watching soccer.They attack government positions frequently, which are protected with the help of African Union peacekeepers.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\04\story_4-8-2010_pg4_8
---------
Da Silva ‘emotional’ in offering asylum to Iranian woman
04 Aug, 2010
TEHRAN: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is being “emotional” and acting out of ignorance in making his offer of asylum to an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning, an official said on Tuesday. “Da Silva has a very emotional and humane character ... and probably enough information about this case has not been presented to him,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters. “What can be done here is to let him know about the details of the case of this person who has committed a crime so that he understands the case,” he added. Lula on Saturday offered to give asylum to Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, a 43-year-old mother of two, who has been sentenced to death by stoning by an Iranian court on charges of adultery. “I want to make an appeal to my friend (Iranian President Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad, the supreme leader of Iran (Ali Khamenei), and to the government of Iran” to allow Brazil to take in the woman, Lula said during a campaign rally for his chosen successor in the southern city of Curitiba. “I have to respect a country’s laws, but if my friendship and regard I have for the president of Iran and the Iranian people is worth something, if this woman is causing discomfort, we could take her in Brazil.”
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010\08\04\story_4-8-2010_pg20_3
---------
US blacklists Iranians for alleged terror support
By ROBERT BURNS
Aug 4, 2010
WASHINGTON: The United States announced new Iran sanctions Tuesday, targeting senior officials of three organizations for allegedly supporting terror groups, including the Taleban in Afghanistan.
The Treasury Department, which announced the sanctions, also named 21 companies that it said are, in effect, fronts for the Iranian government in its pursuit of illicit weaponry, including nuclear arms.
By publicly naming the companies, the United States said it was making it easier for US companies to comply with their legal obligation not to do business with the Iranian government.
Taken together, the actions reflect an Obama administration strategy of ratcheting up economic and political pressure on Iran to limit its support for Islamic extremism in the Middle East. A parallel goal is to coax Iran into international negotiations over its nuclear program.
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article95109.ece
---------
Occupiers in Palestinian territories exceed half million
By MOHAMMED MAR’I
Aug 4, 2010
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on Tuesday said that the number of Jewish settlers in the Palestinian territories has exceeded half million by the end of 2009.
PCBS said in a statistical report, titled the Israeli Settlements in the Palestinian Territory for the year 2009, that the number of occupiers in the West Bank reached 517,774 by the end of 2009.
According to PCBS, the majority of occupiers live in Jerusalem Governorate (267,325); while 201,273 settlers live in J1(the areas in Jerusalem that Israel annexed after the June 1967 War). In addition, 92,625 settlers live in Ramallah & Al-Bireh Governorate, 57,325 in Bethlehem Governorate, and 31,404 settlers in Salfit Governorate. The minimum number of settlers lives in Tubas Governorate (1,340 settlers).
Full report at:
http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article95055.ece
2:11 AM
Sultan Shahin
0 comments:
Post a Comment